Distance-based energy transfer from a transport

ABSTRACT

An example operation includes one or more of determining an estimated arrival time of a first transport to a charging station, determining an estimated remaining stored transport energy at the estimated arrival time of the first transport, notifying the first transport to provide a portion of the determined remaining stored transport energy and when a next transport is delayed to the charging station, notifying the first transport to provide an additional portion of the determined remaining stored transport energy based on the delay.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Cross-reference is made to the following commonly assigned U.S. patentapplications being filed on the same date herewith: Attorney Docket No.IP-A-4219, entitled, “WIRELESSLY NOTIFYING A TRANSPORT TO PROVIDE APORTION OF ENERGY”; Attorney Docket No. IP-A-4281, entitled, “MOBILETRANSPORT FOR EXTRACTING AND DEPOSITING ENERGY”; Attorney Docket No.IP-A-4282, entitled, “EXECUTING AN ENERGY TRANSFER DIRECTIVE FOR AN IDLETRANSPORT”; and Attorney Docket No. IP-A-4458, entitled,“TRANSPORT-BASED ENERGY ALLOCATION,” each of which is incorporated byreference herein for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application generally relates to electric vehicle power transfer,and more particularly, distance-based energy storage from a transport.

BACKGROUND

Currently, charging stations provide power from an electrical sourceprovider to an electric transport, in this scenario the charging stationhas little intelligence and dispenses power to a transport battery ondemand.

As such, what is sought is a charging station that notifies a vehicle toprovide an amount of energy from batteries on the transport to thecharging station, wherein the amount of energy to transfer is based onthe distance of the transport to a module to receive the energy.

SUMMARY

One example embodiment provide a method, comprising one or more of,determining an estimated arrival time of a first transport to a chargingstation, determining an estimated remaining stored transport energy atthe estimated arrival time of the first transport, notifying the firsttransport to provide a portion of the determined remaining storedtransport energy and when a next transport is delayed to the chargingstation, notifying the first transport to provide an additional portionof the determined remaining stored transport energy based on the delay.

Another example embodiment provides a system, comprising at least oneof, a charging station, and a processor configured to perform one ormore of, determine an estimated arrival time of a first transport to thecharging station, determine an estimated remaining stored transportenergy at the estimated arrival time of the first transport, notify thefirst transport to provide a portion of the determined remaining storedtransport energy and when a next transport is delayed to the chargingstation, notify the first transport to provide an additional portion ofthe determined remaining stored transport energy based on the delay.

A further example embodiment provides a non-transitory computer readablemedium comprising instructions, that when read by a processor, causesthe processor to perform one or more of, determining an estimatedarrival time of a first transport to a charging station, determining anestimated remaining stored transport energy at the estimated arrivaltime of the first transport, notifying the first transport to provide aportion of the determined remaining stored transport energy and when anext transport is delayed to the charging station, notifying the firsttransport to provide an additional portion of the determined remainingstored transport energy based on the delay.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a first example power return notification systemoverview, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates another example power return notification systemoverview, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example overview of transports approaching andleaving the vicinity of a charging station.

FIG. 2A illustrates a transport network diagram, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 2B illustrates another transport network diagram, according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 2C illustrates yet another transport network diagram, according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 3A illustrates a first flow diagram, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a machine learning transport network diagram,according to example embodiments.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example vehicle configuration for managingdatabase transactions associated with a vehicle, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example vehicle configuration for managingdatabase transactions conducted among various vehicles, according toexample embodiments

FIG. 6A illustrates a blockchain architecture configuration, accordingto example embodiments.

FIG. 6B illustrates another blockchain configuration, according toexample embodiments.

FIG. 6C illustrates a blockchain configuration for storing blockchaintransaction data, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 6D illustrates example data blocks, according to exampleembodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example system that supports one or more of theexample embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be readily understood that the instant components, as generallydescribed and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged anddesigned in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, thefollowing detailed description of the embodiments of at least one of amethod, apparatus, non-transitory computer readable medium and system,as represented in the attached figures, is not intended to limit thescope of the application as claimed but is merely representative ofselected embodiments.

The instant features, structures, or characteristics as describedthroughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “exampleembodiments”, “some embodiments”, or other similar language, throughoutleast this specification refers to the fact that a particular feature,structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentmay be included in at one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases“example embodiments”, “in some embodiments”, “in other embodiments”, orother similar language, throughout this specification do not necessarilyall refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features,structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner inone or more embodiments. In the diagrams, any connection betweenelements can permit one-way and/or two-way communication even if thedepicted connection is a one-way or two-way arrow. In the currentsolution, a transport may include one or more of vehicles, cars, trucks,motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, boats, recreational vehicles, planes,and any object that may be used to transport people and or goods fromone location to another.

In addition, while the term “message” may have been used in thedescription of embodiments, the application may be applied to many typesof network data, such as, a packet, frame, datagram, etc. The term“message” also includes packet, frame, datagram, and any equivalentsthereof. Furthermore, while certain types of messages and signaling maybe depicted in exemplary embodiments they are not limited to a certaintype of message, and the application is not limited to a certain type ofsignaling.

Example embodiments provide methods, systems, components, non-transitorycomputer readable media, devices, and/or networks, which provide atleast one of: a transport (also referred to as a vehicle herein) a datacollection system, a data monitoring system, a verification system, anauthorization system and a vehicle data distribution system. The vehiclestatus condition data, received in the form of communication updatemessages, such as wireless data network communications and/or wiredcommunication messages, may be received and processed to identifyvehicle/transport status conditions and provide feedback as to thecondition changes of a transport. In one example, a user profile may beapplied to a particular transport/vehicle to authorize a current vehicleevent, service stops at service stations, and to authorize subsequentvehicle rental services.

Within the communication infrastructure, a decentralized database is adistributed storage system which includes multiple nodes thatcommunicate with each other. A blockchain is an example of adecentralized database which includes an append-only immutable datastructure (i.e. a distributed ledger) capable of maintaining recordsbetween untrusted parties. The untrusted parties are referred to hereinas peers, nodes or peer nodes. Each peer maintains a copy of thedatabase records and no single peer can modify the database recordswithout a consensus being reached among the distributed peers. Forexample, the peers may execute a consensus protocol to validateblockchain storage entries, group the storage entries into blocks, andbuild a hash chain via the blocks. This process forms the ledger byordering the storage entries, as is necessary, for consistency. In apublic or permissionless blockchain, anyone can participate without aspecific identity. Public blockchains can involve cryptocurrencies anduse consensus based on various protocols such as proof of work (PoW). Onthe other hand, a permissioned blockchain database provides a systemwhich can secure interactions among a group of entities which share acommon goal, but which do not or cannot fully trust one another, such asbusinesses that exchange funds, goods, information, and the like. Theinstant application can function in a permissioned and/or apermissionless blockchain setting.

Smart contracts are trusted distributed applications which leveragetamper-proof properties of the shared or distributed ledger (i.e., whichmay be in the form of a blockchain) database and an underlying agreementbetween member nodes which is referred to as an endorsement orendorsement policy. In general, blockchain entries are “endorsed” beforebeing committed to the blockchain while entries which are not endorsedare disregarded. A typical endorsement policy allows smart contractexecutable code to specify endorsers for an entry in the form of a setof peer nodes that are necessary for endorsement. When a client sendsthe entry to the peers specified in the endorsement policy, the entry isexecuted to validate the entry. After validation, the entries enter anordering phase in which a consensus protocol is used to produce anordered sequence of endorsed entries grouped into blocks.

Nodes are the communication entities of the blockchain system. A “node”may perform a logical function in the sense that multiple nodes ofdifferent types can run on the same physical server. Nodes are groupedin trust domains and are associated with logical entities that controlthem in various ways. Nodes may include different types, such as aclient or submitting-client node which submits an entry-invocation to anendorser (e.g., peer), and broadcasts entry-proposals to an orderingservice (e.g., ordering node). Another type of node is a peer node whichcan receive client submitted entries, commit the entries and maintain astate and a copy of the ledger of blockchain entries. Peers can alsohave the role of an endorser, although it is not a requirement. Anordering-service-node or orderer is a node running the communicationservice for all nodes, and which implements a delivery guarantee, suchas a broadcast to each of the peer nodes in the system when committingentries and modifying a world state of the blockchain, which is anothername for the initial blockchain entry which normally includes controland setup information.

A ledger is a sequenced, tamper-resistant record of all statetransitions of a blockchain. State transitions may result from smartcontract executable code invocations (i.e., entries) submitted byparticipating parties (e.g., client nodes, ordering nodes, endorsernodes, peer nodes, etc.). An entry may result in a set of assetkey-value pairs being committed to the ledger as one or more operands,such as creates, updates, deletes, and the like. The ledger includes ablockchain (also referred to as a chain) which is used to store animmutable, sequenced record in blocks. The ledger also includes a statedatabase, which maintains a current state of the blockchain. There istypically one ledger per channel. Each peer node maintains a copy of theledger for each channel of which they are a member.

A chain is an entry log which is structured as hash-linked blocks, andeach block contains a sequence of N entries where N is equal to orgreater than one. The block header includes a hash of the block'sentries, as well as a hash of the prior block's header. In this way, allentries on the ledger may be sequenced and cryptographically linkedtogether. Accordingly, it is not possible to tamper with the ledger datawithout breaking the hash links. A hash of a most recently addedblockchain block represents every entry on the chain that has comebefore it, making it possible to ensure that all peer nodes are in aconsistent and trusted state. The chain may be stored on a peer nodefile system (i.e., local, attached storage, cloud, etc.), efficientlysupporting the append-only nature of the blockchain workload.

The current state of the immutable ledger represents the latest valuesfor all keys that are included in the chain entry log. Because thecurrent state represents the latest key values known to a channel, it issometimes referred to as a world state. Smart contract executable codeinvocations execute entries against the current state data of theledger. To make these smart contract executable code interactionsefficient, the latest values of the keys may be stored in a statedatabase. The state database may be simply an indexed view into thechain's entry log, it can therefore be regenerated from the chain at anytime. The state database may automatically be recovered (or generated ifneeded) upon peer node startup, and before entries are accepted.

A blockchain is different from a traditional database in that theblockchain is not a central storage but rather a decentralized,immutable, and secure storage, where nodes must share in changes torecords in the storage. Some properties that are inherent in blockchainand which help implement the blockchain include, but are not limited to,an immutable ledger, smart contracts, security, privacy,decentralization, consensus, endorsement, accessibility, and the like.

Example embodiments provide a way for providing a vehicle service to aparticular vehicle and/or requesting user associated with a user profilethat is applied to the vehicle. For example, a user may be the owner ofa vehicle or the operator of a vehicle owned by another party. Thevehicle may require service at certain intervals and the service needsmay require authorization prior to permitting the services to bereceived. Also, service centers may offer services to vehicles in anearby area based on the vehicle's current route plan and a relativelevel of service requirements (e.g., immediate, severe, intermediate,minor, etc.). The vehicle needs may be monitored via one or more sensorswhich report sensed data to a central controller computer device in thevehicle, which in turn, is forwarded to a management server for reviewand action.

A sensor may be located on one or more of the interior of the transport,the exterior of the transport, on a fixed object apart from thetransport, and on another transport near to the transport. The sensormay also be associated with the transport's speed, the transport'sbraking, the transport's acceleration, fuel levels, service needs, thegear-shifting of the transport, the transport's steering, and the like.The notion of a sensor may also be a device, such as a mobile device.Also, sensor information may be used to identify whether the vehicle isoperating safely and whether the occupant user has engaged in anyunexpected vehicle conditions, such as during the vehicle access period.Vehicle information collected before, during and/or after a vehicle'soperation may be identified and stored in a transaction on ashared/distributed ledger, which may be generated and committed to theimmutable ledger as determined by a permission granting consortium, andthus in a “decentralized” manner, such as via a blockchain membershipgroup. Each interested party (i.e., company, agency, etc.) may want tolimit the exposure of private information, and therefore the blockchainand its immutability can limit the exposure and manage permissions foreach particular user vehicle profile. A smart contract may be used toprovide compensation, quantify a user profile score/rating/review, applyvehicle event permissions, determine when service is needed, identify acollision and/or degradation event, identify a safety concern event,identify parties to the event and provide distribution to registeredentities seeking access to such vehicle event data. Also, the resultsmay be identified, and the necessary information can be shared among theregistered companies and/or individuals based on a “consensus” approachassociated with the blockchain. Such an approach could not beimplemented on a traditional centralized database.

In an embodiment of the current solution, the charging station takes onan additional role and/or a different role as a communicator with andcharging manager of transports. The disclosed charging stationscommunicate the power needs of the system(s) in which it is incommunication with, the needs of the charging station(s) themselves, orthe energy needs of other transports, receives energy from the transportfor delivery to the local electrical grid, locale or other transport andis aware of the locations, direction of travel and status of variouselectric transports.

Another embodiment of the current solution tracks transports to estimatetravel times to a charging station, tracks current energy levels of thetransports and estimates or determines the stored energy of thetransports at the estimated arrival time. In this embodiment, thetransports may communicate their location, travel direction and energystatus to the charging station. The solution provides intelligencebetween the charging station and the transport. This intelligence mayallow the processor of the charging station to wirelessly communicatewith the transport regarding an amount of energy stored in abattery/batteries on the transport, its current location and its currentdirection of travel. The processor may notify a first transport toprovide a portion of the estimated or determined remaining storedtransport energy and may communicate when a next transport is delayed tothe charging station. This information may be used to provide additionaldetermined remaining stored transport energy from the first transportbased on the delay of the next transport. The processor and/or otherdevices such as a transceiver, transmitter, receiver, sensor and thelike of the charging station is configured to communicate with one ormore processors and/or other devices such as a transceiver, transmitter,receiver, sensor and the like of the transport to determine a currentbattery charge, location and direction of travel to the chargingstation. In one example the coupling of the transport and the chargingstation may be by way of direct electrical connection, inductivecoupling and the like.

In an embodiment of the current solution, the charging station acts as avehicle energy director and a bi-directional energy transit/transferdevice in which energy needs are met from the electrical grid to anendpoint, from an endpoint to the electrical grid and from transport totransport. The endpoint may be a vehicle, a dwelling, another chargingstation, and the like. This bi-directionality of energy flow isperformed by the current solution that has expanded intelligence intothe transports surrounding it. The expanded intelligence of the chargingstation may include transport status information such as the currentstate of charge of the transport, its location, direction of travel,endpoint, other stops, its current usage rate, and the like received viawireless communication from the transport. The charging station maydetermine an additional amount of energy that the transport will requireto complete its route; this information may also be wirelesslycommunicated by the transport to the charging station as transportstatus information. The charging station may additionally store previoustransport status information from previous interactions with thetransport and based on these previous interactions form a historicaltravel pattern for that transport.

The charging stations may communicate with one another to provideinformation related to a direction of transit travel, state of charge, atransit time to the charging station(s), etc. In this current solution,the charging stations, in one embodiment, can communicate with oneanother as well as transiting vehicles, keeping track of their energyneeds and excess energy storage capacity. This information is used toselect specific vehicle(s) based on a current energy storage of thevehicle(s) and a time to a charging station. In other embodiments, anestimated time that will be spent by the vehicle discharging at thecharging station may also be determined and used to select the specificvehicle(s) as well as to manage the ingress and egress of vehicle(s) atthe charging station to provide additional power to the electrical grid(FIG. 1A, 1, 142). The estimated time spent by a vehicle discharging atthe charging station may be based on the state of charge of thetransport, the type of transport, the type of energy storage, the typeof electrical current connection and the like. The communication betweencharging stations may be one of wireless, wired, network, internet basedand the like.

In one example embodiment, the estimated remaining stored transportenergy of the first transport may be based on an adverse condition atthe charging station. The adverse condition may be one at the chargingstation, between the transport and the charging station and/or at thetransport.

An adverse condition at the charging station may be related to timespent in queue behind other transports at the charging station, in whichinconvenience to the driver and occupants may be an adverse condition.If the transport contains only a driver, then passengers are notdelayed, and only the schedule of the driver need be taken intoconsideration for that transport. If the transport has multiplepassengers, their schedules may be impacted by delays at the chargingstation, which would comprise an adverse condition for them.

Another possible adverse condition at the charging station may be amalfunction or system slowdown at the charging station. Self-diagnosticsat the charging station may track electrical activity per time period,and slowdowns in the electrical activity may indicate eithertransmission problems from or to the charging station, communicationproblems at the charging station or general computational issues at thecharging station. In situations where the charging station is determinedto be the root cause, the charging station may take itself offline andrelease its queue.

Yet another possible adverse condition at the charging station may berelated to traffic conditions, road closures and/or accidents betweenthe transport and the charging station. In scenarios such as this, thecharging station may release queues between the traffic disturbance andthe charging station for a time period and select transports approachingit from other directions or other roads that are not involved in thedisturbance.

Another possible adverse condition may be related to the state of thetransport, if the transport is having mechanical issues, electricalissues and the like, the transport may be removed from the chargingstation potential queue.

In yet another possible adverse condition may be related to a value, atime or a priority. A value issue may be related to the exchange ofenergy for money, credits or other benefits may not be advantageous tothe transport operator. In this example, the operator may consider thisan adverse situation and indicate that he wishes to be removed from thecharging station potential queue. A time issue may related to the amountof time at the charging station would entail versus the value to thetransport operator, or versus the time to the destination, or versus theschedules of passengers within the transport that need to be at a givenplace at a given time. A priority issue may be related to competingpriorities between the value and the time required at the chargingstation may not be advantageous to the transport operator, or thepriority of a scheduled event or need to be at a destination at a giventime may take priority over the value of the energy.

In one embodiment the determined remaining stored transport energy maybe provided based on an energy deficit of the next transport and theadditional portion of energy provided may be equal or greater to theenergy deficit of the next transport. In this example the systemdetermines the energy excess or deficit of transports to be potentiallyqueued up and recognizes the energy deficit of an upcoming transport.This energy deficit may be provided by the first transport so that thenet energy usage of the charging station is substantially lowered duringtimes of low grid energy.

In another embodiment the portion of the determined remaining storedtransport energy to be provided by the first transport may be based on apreset sequence of arrival of multiple transports at the chargingstation related to a set of characteristics and the system may replaceone of the transports with another transport having a bettercharacteristic that is not a part of the multiple transports. In thisexample the preset sequence may have a first transport may be two (2)minutes away from the charging station, the next transport may be seven(7) minutes away and a third transport may be thirty (30) minutes away.The charging station may define a sequence of transports to be coupledto approach the charging station from different directions, but may besorted by distance and travel speed. The preset sequence may be based oncharacteristics. The transport characteristics may include a distancefrom charging station, an amount of energy to transfer to the chargingstation, a rate of discharge, an amount of charge remaining aftertransfer, a number of occupants in the transport and the like. Thesystem may take note of the number of occupants in the transport andprioritize those transports with fewer occupants to reduce the numberimpacted and or inconvenienced. The system may also take note of goodsstored onboard the transport and prioritize those transports with goodsunaffected by delays.

In another example the processor may be configured to communicate withone or more processors or sensors on the vehicle to determine one ormore of, a location of the vehicle, the distance of the vehicle to theapparatus, a current amount of energy stored in the vehicle, and anestimated amount of energy that will be stored in the vehicle based onthe distance of the vehicle to the apparatus. The estimated amount ofenergy that will be stored in the vehicle may be further based on one ormore of, a time to arrive at the apparatus, a distance, a time, atraffic condition, a road condition, a weather condition, a vehiclecondition, an occupant schedule in the vehicle, and a prospectiveoccupant schedule waiting for the vehicle.

In one embodiment the charging station may wirelessly communicate withand may be aware of the group of electric transports in its vicinity,their direction of travel and their state of charge of the individualtransiting transport batteries. In one embodiment the transport storageunit may be comprised of capacitors, super-capacitors and the like. Inone embodiment, the transports that are in wireless communication withthe charging station send status information to the charging stationpertaining to the vehicle including one or more of: its current state,location, travel itinerary, load, energy usage per mile and the like.The charging station gathers the status information to form a statusmatrix of the transports that the charging station is in communicationwith. This status matrix may be used as the basis of decisions made bythe charging station about the group of transports traveling toward thecharging station. The status matrix may be utilized to select potentialcandidates to transfer some of their energy to the charging station. Thestatus matrix may be stored at the charging station, in the cloud or ona server communicably coupled to the charging station. The statusinformation associated with the transport may be stored locally in thetransport, in the cloud or on a server communicably coupled to thetransport.

In one embodiment a status matrix is maintained by the charging station.In this embodiment, the status matrix is a matrix of information fortransports approaching the charging station. In other embodiments, thestatus matrix is maintained while the transport is within wirelesscommunication range of the charging station or while the transport iswithin a distance of the charging station. This matrix of information ofthe transports in communication with the charging station may beutilized for decisions pertaining to energy transfer and a history ofthe matrix of information for the transports may be kept for subsequenthistorical analysis. The information maintained by the status matrix mayinclude one or more of a state of charge, a travel direction,endpoint(s), a current location, road blockages at the location, atravel itinerary, a load, an initiation point, an endpoint, aninstantaneous speed of travel, an average speed of travel, a top speed,an acceleration rate, a current energy usage rate per distance (such asmile or kilometer), an amount of charge to provide, an amount of time tospend at the charging station, current and/or future road conditions,current and/or future weather conditions, an estimated distance to thecharging station, an estimated distance to a subsequent endpoints, etc.This information can be utilized to make decisions by the chargingstation (via one or more processors, sensors and/or memories, which canstore the status matrix and/or information on the charging station oraccessible by the charging station) for one or more of the transports inwireless communication with the charging station. The status matrix mayalso include historical travel patterns and may be based on previouslystored transport status reports from previous interactions, theprobability of the transport traveling directly to an endpoint on aparticular day and/or stops along the way, etc.

In one example embodiment in which the status matrix has a minimalnumber of components, the matrix may include the identifiers for eachtransport it is communication with, their location with respect to thecharging station, whether the transport is traveling toward the chargingstation, the state of charge of the transport and one or more endpointsof the transport. With that information in the matrix, a determinationmay be made as to which vehicle traveling toward the charging stationwill have the most excess energy after factoring in the energy needed totravel from the charging station to the endpoint. The transport with thegreatest excess energy may be selected to transfer a portion of itsexcess energy back to the charging station and from there, optionally,to the electrical grid or locale. Other data may be collected asdiscussed previously and a different manner of selection of a transportfor providing energy may be utilized.

The charging station may select potential candidates based on thosetransports with the largest energy reserves, the largest ratio of energyreserves to estimated energy usage, transports closest to theirendpoint, transports approaching the charging station and near theirendpoint, transports that will have the shortest queue time based on acurrent speed and energy download/expelling time of a transport and thelike. The endpoint may be a vehicle, a dwelling, another chargingstation, and the like.

The charging station will not leave the transport energy deficient andunable to complete its journey because the charging station will haveeither the currently planned route of the transport via wirelesstransmission from the transport or access to its historical travelpatterns via data stored in the transport, data stored about thetransport in the charging station, data stored about the transport inthe cloud, a server and the like. For example, the historical travelpattern may be based on previously stored transport status reports fromprevious interactions, the charging station may determine theprobability of the transport traveling directly to a location on aparticular day, or stops along the way, etc. This information may form aportion of the status matrix that may be utilized by the chargingstation to determine which vehicle(s) will form the group.

The transport wirelessly communicates with the charging station andprovides one or more of its state of charge, travel direction,endpoint(s), location, an amount of charge to provide, an amount of timeto spend at the charging station, and estimated distance to the chargingstation, estimate distance to a subsequent endpoint, etc. The transportmay independently confirm how much energy it can spare.

In one embodiment, the system may schedule the communications and energytransfer so that the transferring transport is at the charging stationfor the least amount of time in queue. High efficiency of transportenergy upload throughput with minimal queue times for both the chargingstation and transports may be achieved by scheduling the transport forenergy transfer based on a distance from the transport to the chargingstation and the instantaneous velocities of transports traveling towardthe charging station based on their wirelessly communicated statusinformation. The queue times may also be reduced by determining thetravel time of prior transports at approximately the same distance fromthe charging station and scheduling the transport to arrive as theprevious transport is completing its energy transfer. In someembodiments the travel times may be a function of the time of day,distance, traffic density, traffic throughput hindrances and the like.

FIG. 1A illustrates a first example power return notification systemoverview 100, according to example embodiments. In one example, acharging station (FIG. 1A, 114) is configured to receive energy from afirst transport storage unit (FIG. 1B, 134). The charging station (FIG.1A, 114) determines an estimated arrival time of a first transport (FIG.1A, 110) to a charging station (FIG. 1B, 114). The estimated arrivaltime of the first transport (FIG. 1A, 110) may be based on an output ofa first transport spatial location sensor (FIG. 1B, 128). The chargingstation determines an estimated remaining stored transport energy in thefirst transport storage unit (FIG. 1B, 134) at the estimated arrivaltime of the first transport (FIG. 1A, 110). The charging station (FIG.1A, 114) wirelessly notifies (FIG. 1A, 116) the first transport (FIG.1A, 110) to provide a portion of the determined remaining storedtransport energy and when a next transport (FIG. 1A, 112) is delayed tothe charging station (FIG. 1A, 114), notifies the first transport (FIG.1A, 110) to provide an additional portion of the determined remainingstored transport energy based on the delay. An estimated arrival time ofthe next transport (FIG. 1A, 112) may be based on an output of a nexttransport spatial location sensor (FIG. 1B, 132).

FIG. 1B illustrates another example power return notification systemoverview 120, according to example embodiments. In another exampleembodiment may include a charging station (FIG. 1B, 114) and a processorthat is in wireless communication (FIG. 1B, 116) with a first transport(FIG. 1B, 110) and a next transport (FIG. 1B, 112). The processor maydetermine an amount of stored energy in a first storage unit (FIG. 1B,134) of a first transport (FIG. 1B, 110) and a second storage unit (FIG.1, 136) of a next transport (FIG. 1, 112). The processor may determinean energy deficit of the next transport (FIG. 1, 112) and may notify thefirst transport (FIG. 1, 110) of an additional portion of energy to beprovided based on the energy deficit of the next transport.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example overview 150 of transports approachingand leaving the vicinity of a charging station. The charging station(FIG. 1C, 114) may possess information about the energy status of thestorage unit (FIG. 1, 134, 136) of each transport in its immediatevicinity (FIG. 1C, 110, 112, 152, 154, 156, 158). The charging station(FIG. 1C, 114) may also select from among those vehicles that areapproaching the charging station (FIG. 1C, 110, 112, 154, 158). Theinformation may be communicated wirelessly (FIG. 1, 116) viatransceivers (FIG. 1, 124, 126) pertaining to the location, via spatiallocation sensors (FIG. 1B, 128, 132) of the first transport (FIG. 1B,110) and next transport (FIG. 1B, 112) respectively.

In one example a portion of the determined remaining stored transportenergy of the first transport (FIG. 1C, 110) to be provided to thecharging station (FIG. 1C, 114) may be based on a preset sequence ofarrival of multiple transports (FIG. 1C, 110, 112) at the chargingstation (FIG. 1C, 114) related to a set of characteristics of thetransports. The system may replace at least one of the transports (FIG.1C, 110 or 112) with another transport having at least one bettercharacteristic that is not a part of the multiple transports (FIG. 1C,154, 158) that are traveling toward the charging station.

FIG. 2A illustrates a transport network diagram 200, according toexample embodiments. The network comprises elements including atransport node 202 including a processor 204, as well as a transportnode 202′ including a processor 204′. The transport nodes 202, 202′communicate with one another via the processors 204, 204′, as well asother elements (not shown) including transceivers, transmitters,receivers, storage, sensors and other elements capable of providingcommunication. The communication between the transport nodes 202, 202′can occur directly, via a private and/or a public network (not shown) orvia other transport nodes and elements comprising one or more of aprocessor, memory, and software. Although depicted as single transportnodes and processors, a plurality of transport nodes and processors maybe present. One or more of the applications, features, steps, solutions,etc., described and/or depicted herein may be utilized and/or providedby the instant elements.

FIG. 2B illustrates another transport network diagram 210, according toexample embodiments. The network comprises elements including atransport node 202 including a processor 204, as well as a transportnode 202′ including a processor 204′. The transport nodes 202, 202′communicate with one another via the processors 204, 204′, as well asother elements (not shown) including transceivers, transmitters,receivers, storage, sensors and other elements capable of providingcommunication. The communication between the transport nodes 202, 202′can occur directly, via a private and/or a public network (not shown) orvia other transport nodes and elements comprising one or more of aprocessor, memory, and software. The processors 204, 204′ can furthercommunicate with one or more elements 230 including sensor 212, wireddevice 214, wireless device 216, database 218, mobile phone 220,transport node 222, computer 224, I/O device 226 and voice application228. The processors 204, 204′ can further communicate with elementscomprising one or more of a processor, memory, and software.

Although depicted as single transport nodes, processors and elements, aplurality of transport nodes, processors and elements may be present.Information or communication can occur to and/or from any of theprocessors 204, 204′ and elements 230. For example, the mobile phone 220may provide information to the processor 204 which may initiate thetransport node 202 to take an action, may further provide theinformation or additional information to the processor 204′ which mayinitiate the transport node 202′ to take an action, may further providethe information or additional information to the mobile phone 220, thetransport node 222, and/or the computer 224. One or more of theapplications, features, steps, solutions, etc., described and/ordepicted herein may be utilized and/or provided by the instant elements.

FIG. 2C illustrates yet another transport network diagram 240, accordingto example embodiments. The network comprises elements including atransport node 202 including a processor 204 and a non-transitorycomputer readable medium 242C. The processor 204 is communicably coupledto the non-transitory computer readable medium 242C and elements 230(which were depicted in FIG. 2B).

The processor 204 determines 244C an estimated arrival time of a firsttransport to a charging station, determines 246C an estimated remainingstored transport energy at the estimated arrival time of the firsttransport, notifies 248C the first transport to provide a portion of thedetermined remaining stored transport energy and when a next transportis delayed to the charging station notifies 250C the first transport toprovide an additional portion of the determined remaining storedtransport energy based on the delay.

In other embodiments the estimated remaining stored transport energy mayfurther be based on an adverse condition at the charging station,wherein the adverse condition at the charging station may be based on atleast one of a value, a time and a priority. The portion of thedetermined remaining stored transport energy to be provided may be basedon an energy deficit of the next transport, wherein the additionalportion of the determined remaining stored transport energy to beprovided may be equal to or greater than the energy deficit of the nexttransport. The portion of the determined remaining stored transportenergy to be provided may be based on a preset sequence of arrival ofmultiple transports at the charging station related to a set ofcharacteristics of the multiple transports.

The processors and/or computer readable media may fully or partiallyreside in the interior or exterior of the transport nodes. The steps orfeatures stored in the computer readable media may be fully or partiallyperformed by any of the processors and/or elements in any order.Additionally, one or more steps or features may be added, omitted,combined, performed at a later time, etc.

In one embodiment, different charging stations communicate with oneanother to most effectively assign transports that will discharge energyto the charging stations and ultimately, the power grid. A master entityprovides intelligence in the management of the queues at a plurality ofcharging stations. In one example, one charging station becomes themaster entity, having an assignment capability over a plurality of othercharging stations. In another example, the system is the master entitythat manages the queues at a plurality of charging stations. In yet afurther example, the transport(s) are provided the ability to manage thequeues at charging stations.

When an incoming transport is delayed or cancelled in a queue (which maybe pre-set) of a charging station, other transports in route to thecharging station(s) that are ahead in the queue (i.e. will be arrivingbefore the delayed or cancelled transport(s)) are not notified torectify the problem (i.e. provide more charge/energy). Rather, themaster entity determines the modifications at the plurality of chargingstations. As an example, an incoming transport, Transport C, isdetermined by the system to arrive at the charging station 5 minuteslater than previously determined. Transport C is configured to dischargeat a fast discharge rate. The master entity, therefore, seeks to manageother transports that are heading to the plurality of charging stations.Transport B, which is also a fast discharging transport, is currentlyscheduled to arrive at a charging station managed by the master, but dueto availability at the charging station, is assigned to a slow transferdischarge rate station. Transport A, that is currently discharging at ahigh transfer discharge rate will be leaving within the 5 minutes at thesame charging station as the one that Transport B is heading towards.Due to the delay of Transport C, the master entity assigns Transport Bto a fast discharging connection to accommodate a more efficienttransfer of energy.

FIG. 3A illustrates a flow diagram 300, according to exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 3A, the flow comprises determining 302 anestimated arrival time of a first transport to a charging station,determining 304 an estimated remaining stored transport energy at theestimated arrival time of the first transport, notifying 306 the firsttransport to provide a portion of the determined remaining storedtransport energy and when a next transport is delayed to the chargingstation notifying 308 the first transport to provide an additionalportion of the determined remaining stored transport energy based on thedelay.

In other embodiments the estimated remaining stored transport energy mayfurther be based on an adverse condition at the charging station,wherein the adverse condition at the charging station may be based on atleast one of a value, a time and a priority. The portion of thedetermined remaining stored transport energy to be provided may be basedon an energy deficit of the next transport, wherein the additionalportion of the determined remaining stored transport energy to beprovided may be equal to or greater than the energy deficit of the nexttransport. The portion of the determined remaining stored transportenergy to be provided may be based on a preset sequence of arrival ofmultiple transports at the charging station related to a set ofcharacteristics of the multiple transports. The flow may also includereplacing at least one of the multiple transports with at least oneother transport having at least one better characteristic that is not apart of the multiple transports.

FIG. 4 illustrates a machine learning transport network diagram 400,according to example embodiments. The network 400 includes a transportnode 402 that interfaces with a machine learning subsystem 406. Thetransport node includes one or more sensors 404.

The machine learning subsystem 406 contains a learning model 408 whichis a mathematical artifact created by a machine learning training system410 that generates predictions by finding patterns in one or moretraining data sets. In some embodiments, the machine learning subsystem406 resides in the transport node 402. In other embodiments, the machinelearning subsystem 406 resides outside of the transport node 402.

The transport node 402 sends data from the one or more sensors 404 tothe machine learning subsystem 406. The machine learning subsystem 406provides the one or more sensor 404 data to the learning model 408 whichreturns one or more predictions. The machine learning subsystem 406sends one or more instructions to the transport node 402 based on thepredictions from the learning model 408.

In a further embodiment, the transport node 402 may send the one or moresensor 404 data to the machine learning training system 410. In yetanother embodiment, the machine learning subsystem 406 may sent thesensor 404 data to the machine learning subsystem 410. One or more ofthe applications, features, steps, solutions, etc., described and/ordepicted herein may utilize the machine learning network 400 asdescribed herein.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example vehicle configuration 500 for managingdatabase transactions associated with a vehicle, according to exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 5A, as a particular transport/vehicle 525is engaged in transactions (e.g., vehicle service, dealer transactions,delivery/pickup, transportation services, etc.), the vehicle may receiveassets 510 and/or expel/transfer assets 512 according to atransaction(s). A transport processor 526 resides in the vehicle 525 andcommunication exists between the transport processor 526, a database530, a transport processor 526 and the transaction module 520. Thetransaction module 520 may record information, such as assets, parties,credits, service descriptions, date, time, location, results,notifications, unexpected events, etc. Those transactions in thetransaction module 520 may be replicated into a database 530. Thedatabase 530 can be one of a SQL database, an RDBMS, a relationaldatabase, a non-relational database, a blockchain, a distributed ledger,and may be on board the transport, may be off board the transport, maybe accessible directly and/or through a network, or be accessible to thetransport.

FIG. 5B illustrates an example vehicle configuration 550 for managingdatabase transactions conducted among various vehicles, according toexample embodiments. The vehicle 525 may engage with another vehicle 508to perform various actions such as to share, transfer, acquire servicecalls, etc. when the vehicle has reached a status where the servicesneed to be shared with another vehicle. For example, the vehicle 508 maybe due for a battery charge and/or may have an issue with a tire and maybe in route to pick up a package for delivery. A transport processor 528resides in the vehicle 508 and communication exists between thetransport processor 528, a database 554, a transport processor 528 andthe transaction module 552. The vehicle 508 may notify another vehicle525 which is in its network and which operates on its blockchain memberservice. A transport processor 526 resides in the vehicle 525 andcommunication exists between the transport processor 526, a database530, the transport processor 526 and a transaction module 520. Thevehicle 525 may then receive the information via a wirelesscommunication request to perform the package pickup from the vehicle 508and/or from a server (not shown). The transactions are logged in thetransaction modules 552 and 520 of both vehicles. The credits aretransferred from vehicle 508 to vehicle 525 and the record of thetransferred service is logged in the database 530/554 assuming that theblockchains are different from one another, or, are logged in the sameblockchain used by all members. The database 554 can be one of a SQLdatabase, an RDBMS, a relational database, a non-relational database, ablockchain, a distributed ledger, and may be on board the transport, maybe off board the transport, may be accessible directly and/or through anetwork.

FIG. 6A illustrates a blockchain architecture configuration 600,according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG. 6A, the blockchainarchitecture 600 may include certain blockchain elements, for example, agroup of blockchain member nodes 602-606 as part of a blockchain group610. In one example embodiment, a permissioned blockchain is notaccessible to all parties but only to those members with permissionedaccess to the blockchain data. The blockchain nodes participate in anumber of activities, such as blockchain entry addition and validationprocess (consensus). One or more of the blockchain nodes may endorseentries based on an endorsement policy and may provide an orderingservice for all blockchain nodes. A blockchain node may initiate ablockchain action (such as an authentication) and seek to write to ablockchain immutable ledger stored in the blockchain, a copy of whichmay also be stored on the underpinning physical infrastructure.

The blockchain transactions 620 are stored in memory of computers as thetransactions are received and approved by the consensus model dictatedby the members' nodes. Approved transactions 626 are stored in currentblocks of the blockchain and committed to the blockchain via a committalprocedure which includes performing a hash of the data contents of thetransactions in a current block and referencing a previous hash of aprevious block. Within the blockchain, one or more smart contracts 630may exist that define the terms of transaction agreements and actionsincluded in smart contract executable application code 632, such asregistered recipients, vehicle features, requirements, permissions,sensor thresholds, etc. The code may be configured to identify whetherrequesting entities are registered to receive vehicle services, whatservice features they are entitled/required to receive given theirprofile statuses and whether to monitor their actions in subsequentevents. For example, when a service event occurs and a user is riding inthe vehicle, the sensor data monitoring may be triggered, and a certainparameter, such as a vehicle charge level, may be identified as beingabove/below a particular threshold for a particular period of time, thenthe result may be a change to a current status which requires an alertto be sent to the managing party (i.e., vehicle owner, vehicle operator,server, etc.) so the service can be identified and stored for reference.The vehicle sensor data collected may be based on types of sensor dataused to collect information about vehicle's status. The sensor data mayalso be the basis for the vehicle event data 634, such as a location(s)to be traveled, an average speed, a top speed, acceleration rates,whether there were any collisions, was the expected route taken, what isthe next endpoint, whether safety measures are in place, whether thevehicle has enough charge/fuel, etc. All such information may be thebasis of smart contract terms 630, which are then stored in ablockchain. For example, sensor thresholds stored in the smart contractcan be used as the basis for whether a detected service is necessary andwhen and where the service should be performed.

FIG. 6B illustrates a shared ledger configuration, according to exampleembodiments. Referring to FIG. 6B, the blockchain logic example 640includes a blockchain application interface 642 as an applicationprogramming interface or plug-in application that links to the computingdevice and execution platform for a particular transaction. Theblockchain configuration 640 may include one or more applications whichare linked to application programming interfaces (APIs) to access andexecute stored program/application code (e.g., smart contract executablecode, smart contracts, etc.) which can be created according to acustomized configuration sought by participants and can maintain theirown state, control their own assets, and receive external information.This can be deployed as an entry and installed, via appending to thedistributed ledger, on all blockchain nodes.

The smart contract application code 644 provides a basis for theblockchain transactions by establishing application code which whenexecuted causes the transaction terms and conditions to become active.The smart contract 630, when executed, causes certain approvedtransactions 626 to be generated, which are then forwarded to theblockchain platform 652. The platform includes a security/authorization658, computing devices which execute the transaction management 656 anda storage portion 654 as a memory that stores transactions and smartcontracts in the blockchain.

The blockchain platform may include various layers of blockchain data,services (e.g., cryptographic trust services, virtual executionenvironment, etc.), and underpinning physical computer infrastructurethat may be used to receive and store new entries and provide access toauditors which are seeking to access data entries. The blockchain mayexpose an interface that provides access to the virtual executionenvironment necessary to process the program code and engage thephysical infrastructure. Cryptographic trust services may be used toverify entries such as asset exchange entries and keep informationprivate.

The blockchain architecture configuration of FIGS. 6A and 6B may processand execute program/application code via one or more interfaces exposed,and services provided, by the blockchain platform. As a non-limitingexample, smart contracts may be created to execute reminders, updates,and/or other notifications subject to the changes, updates, etc. Thesmart contracts can themselves be used to identify rules associated withauthorization and access requirements and usage of the ledger. Forexample, the information may include a new entry, which may be processedby one or more processing entities (e.g., processors, virtual machines,etc.) included in the blockchain layer. The result may include adecision to reject or approve the new entry based on the criteriadefined in the smart contract and/or a consensus of the peers. Thephysical infrastructure may be utilized to retrieve any of the data orinformation described herein.

Within smart contract executable code, a smart contract may be createdvia a high-level application and programming language, and then writtento a block in the blockchain. The smart contract may include executablecode which is registered, stored, and/or replicated with a blockchain(e.g., distributed network of blockchain peers). An entry is anexecution of the smart contract code which can be performed in responseto conditions associated with the smart contract being satisfied. Theexecuting of the smart contract may trigger a trusted modification(s) toa state of a digital blockchain ledger. The modification(s) to theblockchain ledger caused by the smart contract execution may beautomatically replicated throughout the distributed network ofblockchain peers through one or more consensus protocols.

The smart contract may write data to the blockchain in the format ofkey-value pairs. Furthermore, the smart contract code can read thevalues stored in a blockchain and use them in application operations.The smart contract code can write the output of various logic operationsinto the blockchain. The code may be used to create a temporary datastructure in a virtual machine or other computing platform. Data writtento the blockchain can be public and/or can be encrypted and maintainedas private. The temporary data that is used/generated by the smartcontract is held in memory by the supplied execution environment, thendeleted once the data needed for the blockchain is identified.

A smart contract executable code may include the code interpretation ofa smart contract, with additional features. As described herein, thesmart contract executable code may be program code deployed on acomputing network, where it is executed and validated by chainvalidators together during a consensus process. The smart contractexecutable code receives a hash and retrieves from the blockchain a hashassociated with the data template created by use of a previously storedfeature extractor. If the hashes of the hash identifier and the hashcreated from the stored identifier template data match, then the smartcontract executable code sends an authorization key to the requestedservice. The smart contract executable code may write to the blockchaindata associated with the cryptographic details.

FIG. 6C illustrates a blockchain configuration for storing blockchaintransaction data, according to example embodiments. Referring to FIG.6C, the example configuration 660 provides for the vehicle 662, the userdevice 664 and a server 666 sharing information with a distributedledger (i.e., blockchain) 668. The server may represent a serviceprovider entity inquiring with a vehicle service provider to share userprofile rating information in the event that a known and establisheduser profile is attempting to rent a vehicle with an established ratedprofile. The server 666 may be receiving and processing data related toa vehicle's service requirements. As the service events occur, such asthe vehicle sensor data indicates a need for fuel/charge, a maintenanceservice, etc., a smart contract may be used to invoke rules, thresholds,sensor information gathering, etc., which may be used to invoke thevehicle service event. The blockchain transaction data 670 is saved foreach transaction, such as the access event, the subsequent updates to avehicle's service status, event updates, etc. The transactions mayinclude the parties, the requirements (e.g., 18 years of age, serviceeligible candidate, valid driver's license, etc.), compensation levels,the distance traveled during the event, the registered recipientspermitted to access the event and host a vehicle service,rights/permissions, sensor data retrieved during the vehicle eventoperation to log details of the next service event and identify avehicle's condition status, and thresholds used to make determinationsabout whether the service event was completed and whether the vehicle'scondition status has changed.

FIG. 6D illustrates blockchain blocks 680 that can be added to adistributed ledger, according to example embodiments, and contents ofblock structures 682A to 682 n. Referring to FIG. 6D, clients (notshown) may submit entries to blockchain nodes to enact activity on theblockchain. As an example, clients may be applications that act onbehalf of a requester, such as a device, person or entity to proposeentries for the blockchain. The plurality of blockchain peers (e.g.,blockchain nodes) may maintain a state of the blockchain network and acopy of the distributed ledger. Different types of blockchainnodes/peers may be present in the blockchain network including endorsingpeers which simulate and endorse entries proposed by clients andcommitting peers which verify endorsements, validate entries, and commitentries to the distributed ledger. In this example, the blockchain nodesmay perform the role of endorser node, committer node, or both.

The instant system includes a blockchain which stores immutable,sequenced records in blocks, and a state database (current world state)maintaining a current state of the blockchain. One distributed ledgermay exist per channel and each peer maintains its own copy of thedistributed ledger for each channel of which they are a member. Theinstant blockchain is an entry log, structured as hash-linked blockswhere each block contains a sequence of N entries. Blocks may includevarious components such as those shown in FIG. 6D. The linking of theblocks may be generated by adding a hash of a prior block's headerwithin a block header of a current block. In this way, all entries onthe blockchain are sequenced and cryptographically linked togetherpreventing tampering with blockchain data without breaking the hashlinks. Furthermore, because of the links, the latest block in theblockchain represents every entry that has come before it. The instantblockchain may be stored on a peer file system (local or attachedstorage), which supports an append-only blockchain workload.

The current state of the blockchain and the distributed ledger may bestored in the state database. Here, the current state data representsthe latest values for all keys ever included in the chain entry log ofthe blockchain. Smart contract executable code invocations executeentries against the current state in the state database. To make thesesmart contract executable code interactions extremely efficient, thelatest values of all keys are stored in the state database. The statedatabase may include an indexed view into the entry log of theblockchain, it can therefore be regenerated from the chain at any time.The state database may automatically get recovered (or generated ifneeded) upon peer startup, before entries are accepted.

Endorsing nodes receive entries from clients and endorse the entry basedon simulated results. Endorsing nodes hold smart contracts whichsimulate the entry proposals. When an endorsing node endorses an entry,the endorsing nodes creates an entry endorsement which is a signedresponse from the endorsing node to the client application indicatingthe endorsement of the simulated entry. The method of endorsing an entrydepends on an endorsement policy which may be specified within smartcontract executable code. An example of an endorsement policy is “themajority of endorsing peers must endorse the entry.” Different channelsmay have different endorsement policies. Endorsed entries are forward bythe client application to an ordering service.

The ordering service accepts endorsed entries, orders them into a block,and delivers the blocks to the committing peers. For example, theordering service may initiate a new block when a threshold of entrieshas been reached, a timer times out, or another condition. In thisexample, blockchain node is a committing peer that has received a datablock 682A for storage on the blockchain. The ordering service may bemade up of a cluster of orderers. The ordering service does not processentries, smart contracts, or maintain the shared ledger. Rather, theordering service may accept the endorsed entries and specifies the orderin which those entries are committed to the distributed ledger. Thearchitecture of the blockchain network may be designed such that thespecific implementation of ‘ordering’ (e.g., Solo, Kafka, BFT, etc.)becomes a pluggable component.

Entries are written to the distributed ledger in a consistent order. Theorder of entries is established to ensure that the updates to the statedatabase are valid when they are committed to the network. Unlike acryptocurrency blockchain system (e.g., Bitcoin, etc.) where orderingoccurs through the solving of a cryptographic puzzle, or mining, in thisexample the parties of the distributed ledger may choose the orderingmechanism that best suits that network.

Referring to FIG. 6D, a block 682A (also referred to as a data block)that is stored on the blockchain and/or the distributed ledger mayinclude multiple data segments such as a block header 684A to 684 n,transaction specific data 686A to 686 n, and block metadata 688A to 688n. It should be appreciated that the various depicted blocks and theircontents, such as block 682A and its contents are merely for purposes ofan example and are not meant to limit the scope of the exampleembodiments. In some cases, both the block header 684A and the blockmetadata 688A may be smaller than the transaction specific data 686Awhich stores entry data; however, this is not a requirement. The block682A may store transactional information of N entries (e.g., 100, 500,1000, 2000, 3000, etc.) within the block data 690A to 690 n. The block682A may also include a link to a previous block (e.g., on theblockchain) within the block header 684A. In particular, the blockheader 684A may include a hash of a previous block's header. The blockheader 684A may also include a unique block number, a hash of the blockdata 690A of the current block 682A, and the like. The block number ofthe block 682A may be unique and assigned in an incremental/sequentialorder starting from zero. The first block in the blockchain may bereferred to as a genesis block which includes information about theblockchain, its members, the data stored therein, etc.

The block data 690A may store entry information of each entry that isrecorded within the block. For example, the entry data may include oneor more of a type of the entry, a version, a timestamp, a channel ID ofthe distributed ledger, an entry ID, an epoch, a payload visibility, asmart contract executable code path (deploy tx), a smart contractexecutable code name, a smart contract executable code version, input(smart contract executable code and functions), a client (creator)identify such as a public key and certificate, a signature of theclient, identities of endorsers, endorser signatures, a proposal hash,smart contract executable code events, response status, namespace, aread set (list of key and version read by the entry, etc.), a write set(list of key and value, etc.), a start key, an end key, a list of keys,a Merkel tree query summary, and the like. The entry data may be storedfor each of the N entries.

In some embodiments, the block data 690A may also store transactionspecific data 686A which adds additional information to the hash-linkedchain of blocks in the blockchain. Accordingly, the data 686A can bestored in an immutable log of blocks on the distributed ledger. Some ofthe benefits of storing such data 686A are reflected in the variousembodiments disclosed and depicted herein. The block metadata 688A maystore multiple fields of metadata (e.g., as a byte array, etc.).Metadata fields may include signature on block creation, a reference toa last configuration block, an entry filter identifying valid andinvalid entries within the block, last offset persisted of an orderingservice that ordered the block, and the like. The signature, the lastconfiguration block, and the orderer metadata may be added by theordering service. Meanwhile, a committer of the block (such as ablockchain node) may add validity/invalidity information based on anendorsement policy, verification of read/write sets, and the like. Theentry filter may include a byte array of a size equal to the number ofentries in the block data 610A and a validation code identifying whetheran entry was valid/invalid.

The other blocks 682B to 682 n in the blockchain also have headers,files, and values. However, unlike the first block 682A, each of theheaders 684A to 684 n in the other blocks includes the hash value of animmediately preceding block. The hash value of the immediately precedingblock may be just the hash of the header of the previous block or may bethe hash value of the entire previous block. By including the hash valueof a preceding block in each of the remaining blocks, a trace can beperformed from the Nth block back to the genesis block (and theassociated original file) on a block-by-block basis, as indicated byarrows 692, to establish an auditable and immutable chain-of-custody.

The above embodiments may be implemented in hardware, in a computerprogram executed by a processor, in firmware, or in a combination of theabove. A computer program may be embodied on a computer readable medium,such as a storage medium. For example, a computer program may reside inrandom access memory (“RAM”), flash memory, read-only memory (“ROM”),erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), registers, hard disk, aremovable disk, a compact disk read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), or any otherform of storage medium known in the art.

An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to the processor such thatthe processor may read information from, and write information to, thestorage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integralto the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in anapplication specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”). In the alternative,the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components.For example, FIG. 7 illustrates an example computer system architecture700, which may represent or be integrated in any of the above-describedcomponents, etc.

FIG. 7 is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of useor functionality of embodiments of the application described herein.Regardless, the computing node 700 is capable of being implementedand/or performing any of the functionality set forth hereinabove.

In computing node 700 there is a computer system/server 702, which isoperational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 702 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 702 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 702 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 7, computer system/server 702 in cloud computing node700 is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 702 may include, but are notlimited to, one or more processors or processing units 704, a systemmemory 706, and a bus that couples various system components includingsystem memory 706 to processor 704.

The bus represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 702 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 702, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. System memory706, in one embodiment, implements the flow diagrams of the otherfigures. The system memory 706 can include computer system readablemedia in the form of volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM)708 and/or cache memory 710. Computer system/server 702 may furtherinclude other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computersystem storage media. By way of example only, memory 706 can be providedfor reading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magneticmedia (not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although notshown, a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to aremovable, non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and anoptical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable,non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other opticalmedia can be provided. In such instances, each can be connected to thebus by one or more data media interfaces. As will be further depictedand described below, memory 706 may include at least one program producthaving a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configuredto carry out the functions of various embodiments of the application.

Program/utility, having a set (at least one) of program modules, may bestored in memory 706 by way of example, and not limitation, as well asan operating system, one or more application programs, other programmodules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or moreapplication programs, other program modules, and program data or somecombination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of various embodiments of the application as describedherein.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the presentapplication may be embodied as a system, method, or computer programproduct. Accordingly, aspects of the present application may take theform of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or anembodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present application may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Computer system/server 702 may also communicate with one or moreexternal devices via an I/O device 712 (such as an I/O adapter), whichmay include a keyboard, a pointing device, a display, a voicerecognition module, etc., one or more devices that enable a user tointeract with computer system/server 702, and/or any devices (e.g.,network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server 702 tocommunicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communicationcan occur via I/O interfaces of the device 712. Still yet, computersystem/server 702 can communicate with one or more networks such as alocal area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or apublic network (e.g., the Internet) via a network adapter. As depicted,device 712 communicates with the other components of computersystem/server 702 via a bus. It should be understood that although notshown, other hardware and/or software components could be used inconjunction with computer system/server 702. Examples, include, but arenot limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units,external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archivalstorage systems, etc.

Although an exemplary embodiment of at least one of a system, method,and non-transitory computer readable medium has been illustrated in theaccompanied drawings and described in the foregoing detaileddescription, it will be understood that the application is not limitedto the embodiments disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements,modifications, and substitutions as set forth and defined by thefollowing claims. For example, the capabilities of the system of thevarious figures can be performed by one or more of the modules orcomponents described herein or in a distributed architecture and mayinclude a transmitter, receiver or pair of both. For example, all orpart of the functionality performed by the individual modules, may beperformed by one or more of these modules. Further, the functionalitydescribed herein may be performed at various times and in relation tovarious events, internal or external to the modules or components. Also,the information sent between various modules can be sent between themodules via at least one of: a data network, the Internet, a voicenetwork, an Internet Protocol network, a wireless device, a wired deviceand/or via plurality of protocols. Also, the messages sent or receivedby any of the modules may be sent or received directly and/or via one ormore of the other modules.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that a “system” could be embodiedas a personal computer, a server, a console, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a cell phone, a tablet computing device, a smartphoneor any other suitable computing device, or combination of devices.Presenting the above-described functions as being performed by a“system” is not intended to limit the scope of the present applicationin any way but is intended to provide one example of many embodiments.Indeed, methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein may beimplemented in localized and distributed forms consistent with computingtechnology.

It should be noted that some of the system features described in thisspecification have been presented as modules, in order to moreparticularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, amodule may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom verylarge-scale integration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelfsemiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discretecomponents. A module may also be implemented in programmable hardwaredevices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable arraylogic, programmable logic devices, graphics processing units, or thelike.

A module may also be at least partially implemented in software forexecution by various types of processors. An identified unit ofexecutable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical orlogical blocks of computer instructions that may, for instance, beorganized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, theexecutables of an identified module need not be physically locatedtogether but may comprise disparate instructions stored in differentlocations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module andachieve the stated purpose for the module. Further, modules may bestored on a computer-readable medium, which may be, for instance, a harddisk drive, flash device, random access memory (RAM), tape, or any othersuch medium used to store data.

Indeed, a module of executable code could be a single instruction, ormany instructions, and may even be distributed over several differentcode segments, among different programs, and across several memorydevices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustratedherein within modules and may be embodied in any suitable form andorganized within any suitable type of data structure. The operationaldata may be collected as a single data set or may be distributed overdifferent locations including over different storage devices, and mayexist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system ornetwork.

It will be readily understood that the components of the application, asgenerally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.Thus, the detailed description of the embodiments is not intended tolimit the scope of the application as claimed but is merelyrepresentative of selected embodiments of the application.

One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that theabove may be practiced with steps in a different order, and/or withhardware elements in configurations that are different than those whichare disclosed. Therefore, although the application has been describedbased upon these preferred embodiments, it would be apparent to those ofskill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternativeconstructions would be apparent.

While preferred embodiments of the present application have beendescribed, it is to be understood that the embodiments described areillustrative only and the scope of the application is to be definedsolely by the appended claims when considered with a full range ofequivalents and modifications (e.g., protocols, hardware devices,software platforms etc.) thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: determining an estimatedarrival time of a first transport to a charging station; determining anestimated remaining stored transport energy at the estimated arrivaltime of the first transport; notifying the first transport to provide aportion of the determined remaining stored transport energy; and when anext transport is delayed to the charging station, notifying the firsttransport to provide an additional portion of the determined remainingstored transport energy based on the delay.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the estimated remaining stored transport energy is further basedon an adverse condition at the charging station.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the adverse condition at the charging station is based on atleast one of a value, a time and a priority.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the portion of the determining remaining stored transport energyto be provided is based on an energy deficit of the next transport. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein the additional portion of the determinedremaining stored transport energy to be provided is equal to or greaterthan the energy deficit of the next transport.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the portion of the determined remaining stored transport energyto be provided is based on a preset sequence of arrival of a pluralityof transports at the charging station related to a set ofcharacteristics of the plurality of transports.
 7. The method of claim6, comprising replacing at least one of the plurality of transports withat least one other transport having at least one better characteristicof the set of characteristics that is not a part of the plurality oftransports.
 8. A system, comprising: a charging station; and a processorconfigured to: determine an estimated arrival time of a first transportto the charging station; determine an estimated stored transport energythat remains at the estimated arrival time of the first transport;notify the first transport to provide a portion of the determined storedtransport energy that remains; and when a next transport is delayed tothe charging station, notify the first transport to provide anadditional portion of the determined stored transport energy thatremains based on the delay.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein theestimated stored transport energy that remains is further based on anadverse condition at the charging station.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein the adverse condition at the charging station is based on atleast one of a value, a time and a priority.
 11. The system of claim 8,wherein the portion of the determined stored transport energy thatremains to be provided is based on an energy deficit of the nexttransport.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the additional portion ofthe determined stored transport energy that remains to be provided isequal to or greater than the energy deficit of the next transport. 13.The system of claim 8, wherein the portion of the determined storedtransport energy that remains to be provided is based on a presetsequence of arrival of a plurality of transports at the charging stationrelated to a set of characteristics of the plurality of transports. 14.The system of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to replaceat least one of the plurality of transports with at least one othertransport that has at least one better characteristic of the set ofcharacteristics that is not a part of the plurality of transports.
 15. Anon-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions, thatwhen read by a processor, cause the processor to perform: determining anestimated arrival time of a first transport to a charging station;determining an estimated remaining stored transport energy at theestimated arrival time of the first transport; notifying the firsttransport to provide a portion of the determined remaining storedtransport energy; and when a next transport is delayed to the chargingstation, notifying the first transport to provide an additional portionof the determined remaining stored transport energy based on the delay.16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein theestimated remaining stored transport energy is further based on anadverse condition at the charging station.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the adverse condition atthe charging station is based on at least one of a value, a time and apriority.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15,wherein the portion of the determined remaining stored transport energyto be provided is based on an energy deficit of the next transport. 19.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein theadditional portion of the determined remaining stored transport energyto be provided is equal to or greater than the energy deficit of thenext transport.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim15, wherein the portion of the determined remaining stored transportenergy to be provided is based on a preset sequence of arrival of aplurality of transports at the charging station related to a set ofcharacteristics of the plurality of transports.